The Merging of Hip Hop Culture with Skating Culture
written by: Skatecide

The two brothers from a different mother – that’s how you can explain the relationship between hip hop culture and skating culture. Although these two don’t share the same background, the philosophy behind them is the same – it’s the constant struggle between individual artistic expression, credibility and authenticity in unsupportive and rigid social environment.

It’s obvious that hip hop and skating became the same; but have you wonder how can this merging happen? In what ways hip hop reflect skating culture and vice versa? This is what intrigued us – so we came up with some intersections of hip hop and skating culture from their beginning to date. Fortunately for me, I had an amazing family support system that allowed me to enjoy both cultures simultaneously and did not judge me for it and that is why I am writing so passionately on the topic of the cultures. If my dad hadn’t worked so hard at his plumbing company www.plumbersofpompano.com, I wouldn’t have had the chance to pursue my dream of skate culture and start this blog. I wouldn’t have entered into skate competitions and been able to fly around the world to link up with other skaters and try out other skate parks and ramps. On to the meat of this blog.

The street philosophy

Both these movements are street movements; they are closely connected through the underground and alternative scene originated in the late 1980s. However, they appeared on different sides of the States: the origins of hip hop can be traced back to the East Coast, while skating has made its breakthrough from the West Coast. The biggest expansion of hip hop and skating culture happened in 1990s when the life on the street was unbearable and it was no indication whatsoever that you could be make it through another day.

Although these circumstances shaped the basic philosophy of both cultures, assigning them different images and ideals, both hip hop and skating have gone through implementing the basic postulates of street philosophy: survive another day.

Urban youth movement

The survival mode of the urban street philosophy back in 1980s was nothing compared to 1990s. That’s the period when both hip hop and skating began to emerge from the shadows of the underground position. The youth was the target audience because of its vulnerability at that time. Hip hop and skating were addressing the kids from the block, the outcasts who are struggling to survive and make a living.They had no opportunity to be new Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. They were doomed to this lonely, mediocre street life filled with violence, drugs and death. From that daily routine, hip hop and skating went to the mainstream – shouting on the world to see how the young generations spend their childhood.

Individual expression

The most prevailing characteristics in both hip hop and skating was the individual expression. It’s at the same time the culture of “one” and the “group”. You could easily create your own “thing” without being in a group or being recognized out there. However, you needed that recognition coming from your peers, your crew. Your own language and the way of expression is your ticket to the crew – you had to bring the value first, so as you come out to the street and stand up in front of the group, you’ll get the respect for your
individuality. In both cultures, individual expression is practiced in larger group of peers. Just look at the hip hop battle or a skating session in the park. You get the chance to do your own thing, but when you make a move or through the rhyme, that’s noteworthy – you get the recognition, too.

Struggle for authenticity

It was all about doing your thing – both hip hop and skating cultures could not fit into the mainstream, and neither did they try to. They were tired of stereotypes, of fancy reality which has nothing to do with the real life – their life on the street. Both cultures were a great way to stay clean and out of trouble – and to stay alive. You had to make your presence matter, and you could only have done that with finding your own style.

Confrontation with authority

When hip hop was just taking shape, it was recommended to know the rules and to respect the authority. Otherwise, you would easily get punished or dead. By being an individual and saying things differently (even though it was not recommended) hip hopers and skaters alike were struggling to make their own way into the mainstream. To do that, they had to confront the authority – the society, the white people, the government; basically anything and anyone that was standing on the way of their individuality.

Fashion

One of the first things that was noticed about hip hop and skating cultures were their unique style and fashion. Because they didn’t want to blend in, they come up with the style that will speak up where are they from and who are they representing. Thus, you can find the differences in East Coast and West Coast styling or in ghetto and urban styling, but they are connected through the same thread – their clothes were their uniform.

Their statement, their attitude etc are what makes the distinction. They searched for comfort and not fashion. However, it eventually became fashion – and now you can see it in hip hopers and skaters who launch their own fashion lines. But it took some time to get there.

Breakdance

Many skaters listened to hip hop while skating – and it complemented it very well. While they were on their wheels, they would stir it up with some music and dancing. Obviously, breakdance came up as the perfect match since it was already integrated with hip hop culture. By listening to hip hop music, the skaters have been taking the elements of the culture, too. It was like a missing part of the puzzle.

Graffiti style

Interestingly, skating originated from graffiti style back in the 1990s. It was their way of artistic expression – and the hip hop culture soon adopted it as their feature. It was that missing link between hip hop and skating that connected with both cultures on a deeper level – going back to the pre-historic times, when wall paintings were the only form of the artistic expression, and dancing and music. Thus, both cultures actually explored the origins of human creation in its rawest form and placing it in the modern times and present moment.

Conclusion

It’s almost impossible to draw the line between hip hop and skating culture today. The two are intertwined on a deep level – in recognizing the role of the man on the street and finding ways to deal with stereotypes and mainstream culture. It has been a long way for both hip hop and skating culture to arrive to the big scene, but thanks to Pharrell, Kanye, Lupe Fiasco, Wiz Khalifa and the others, we are now witnessing how hip hop and skating culture are influencing the mainstream fashion, style and life trends.

Sector 9 Skateboards
written by:skatecide

In 1993, Dave Klimkiewicz, Dennis Telfer, Steve Lake and Tal O-Farrell came together in La Jolla, California to create a longboard company. 20 years later, their backyard business has grown into a multimillion dollar company, having been acquired by Bravo Corp from Billabong International for 12 million dollars in 2016, and one of the most sought after brands in the skateboarding world. Known for its longboards and powerhouse skateboards, Sector 9 has boards for skateboarders of all skill sets and all levels. The company makes its skateboards using 7 ply maple to make them durable for all types of stunts and tricks. This ensures that you can work on your skills at the rink or park without worrying that your board will break. The longboards made from 9 ply maple are perfect for downhill boarding, high speed cruising and smooth turns thanks to their larger trucks and decks. These give riders more wiggle room to move around, handle steep slopes and corners and rough riding. You can get both the longboards and skateboards pre-assembled from various sports stores or online or build your own with custom wheels, colors, designs, bearings, riser pads and even match these with your pads, helmet, backpack or t-shirt.

While the boards durability are ensured by the material and construction, the material used for the boards bearings ensure the rider’s safety. Sector 9 has cosmic bearings which are made of steel and are rated at ABEC 7 and ceramic bearings which are not only lighter and stronger than the finest steel balls but also help prevent debris build up making them last longer without needing replacement. The different bearings used on the boards help improve balance and the way one rides.

Other custom work that you can have done on your Sector 9 board include installing riser pads to give it lift and help prevent it from cracking from wear and tear. Sector 9 riser pads are shock absorbent which helps extend the lifespan on your skateboard. Any skateboarder worth his or her salt knows that maintenance is key to ensuring your skateboard stays in good condition and doesn’t give up on you in the middle of a trick or as you cruise. The company knowing this has included a lineup of skateboard maintenance products to help riders take care of their boards. These include hardware kits that have all you need to adjust or build your board and lubricant to prevent wheel lockup or wearing down of the bearings. The company also has safety gear such as elbows, hands and knees safety pads and helmets to help keep you safe whether you are a beginner or a seasoned rider looking to try out a new stunt. Sector 9 has boards for every kind of rider out there including custom jobs and accessories to make your riding experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible such as cool t-shirts and backpacks. With endless choices in terms of skateboard equipment, accessories and apparel, the company has made its mark in the skateboarding world and become a one-stop shop for any skateboarding needs.

How’s it hanging? Hope all is well, I appreciate you coming to check out the blog and see what we have going o, on our end.

Today we are going to continue our segment on how the skateboarding culture all began and understand our history and stuff you know?

cool…… so let’s get into it.

I wanna pick back up in the 70’s and into the 2000’s to the present so that you guys can see the progressive evolution of our culture and what brought us here.

The 70’s

So in the 70’s a resurgence and popularity in skateboarding emerged, but with a different emphasis. Skateboarders were discovering skating in empty pools and learning to lift themselves off the edge of the pool and that is where the predecessor to the huge ramps you see now began. Moves like the aerial were dominant during this time as skaters learned to ride up the sides of the walls and lift themselves up ver the edge and turn around to go back down and skate like a back and forth motion from one end of the pool to the other. Skateparks became widely popular as the intricacy of very skating increased and evolved, the smooth surfaces of these skate parks would allow the boundaries of vert skating to be pushed and many skaters to start excelling in this arena.

Commerical skateparks were not as available as they are now so many skaters had to rely on ramps which allowed them to do the vertical moves or poor man’s pools if they had no access to pools.

Skateboarding’s monumental moments in the 70’s

Frank Nasworthy developed the polyurethane wheels branded as the “Cadillac wheel” for skateboards

Tracker Trucks developed axles for skateboards which it possible to make wider boards giving skaters better control

Del Mar Championships were held with over 500 competitors, the largest competition since the 60’s

The Z-boys revolutionized the landscape of skateboarding by introducing a skating style the resembled the surfing style of Californians

The 80’s

Skateboarders were cash kings during this ear as many of the skate companies were owned by skaters themselves. Vert ramp skating had taken a predominance over the sport even though street skating was well and thriving. It’s just that not every skater could afford vert ramps. Rodney Mullen was a pioneer during this era inventing tricks such as the “impossible” and the “kickflip”. Skating during this era ended up facing much opposition due to the government, business and locals in different municipalities complaining about the sport since freestyle and street skating was prominent.

The 90’s

The 90’s witnessed a massive resurgence in skating in the streets due to a recession in the economy at the time and the unaffordability of going to skate parks and buying ramps. Tony Hawk and many other prominent skaters famous since the 80’s kept the spirit of skateboarding alive during this trying time in the country. In the 90’s the most noticeable trend was the street style skating moves being translated to the vert world. So we saw the vert variations of the street tricks on ramps.

Sup Dudes, so skateboarding is an extreme action sport we all know and love as is with cool skate parks and awesome stuff like that, and it only keeps getting better. However, a lot of our little dudes out there have no idea how this amazing cultural phenomena all came about. so let’s enlighten you guys for a moment.

How it all started:

Skateboards became an adaptation of the famous skates that everyone loved to enjoy during the 50’s. The details on who exactly started skating are to be debated but it is unanimously believed that it was an alternative for surfers during the early 50’s when the waves were flat. Many variations of the skateboard were created during that time and it gained massive popularity. It was called “sidewalk surfing”.

Mass production of the skateboard began in the 60’s from southern Cal surfing companies that built surfboards. Before all of this though there was a sort of beta of what the skateboard we know now called a crate scooter that had a handle on it to help for steering and later skaters used planks. The first sight of these awesome tools of fun was seen and reported in Paris, France in the mid 40’s.

Moving into the 70’s skating had gained tons of popularity even the point of television shows such as “surfs up” and magazines like “the quarterly skateboarder.”

Be on the look out for pt.2 either tomorrow or the next few days… Holler at us for anything little dudes

Welcome to the blog. If you head on over to the gnarly about page you’ll find out what we are all about in the skating world. It’s really simple, we’re a couple of skater enthusiasts/extreme sports lovers that wanna write about the thing we love the most and has been our passion since we were young boys!

That is skating!
Ciao hit up the contact page for info or questions about anything.